10 Unbelievable Hangover Cures from Around the Globe

Posted on Dec 27, 2015

You’ve got your outfit picked out and the Champagne is on ice. You’re ready for New Year’s Eve, baby. What you probably haven’t done yet, though, is plan for tomorrow morning. You know, when you wake up fuzzy-mouthed with a piercing headache, glitter in your hair and a vague notion that you already broke at least three of your 2016 resolutions.

Fear not, brave partier. We’ve got some new breakfast suggestions for your New Year’s Day. Sourced from around the globe, these dishes will annihilate your hangover in no time flat.

1: The Place: ChinaThe Hangover Remedy: Congee

Essentially a slow-cooked savory rice porridge, congee (also called jook) is a carb-heavy dish that will help soak up any remaining booze in your system. You can cook the porridge the night before, then reheat it on New Year’s Day, and garnish it with cooked chicken, fried shallots, sausage, ginger or scallions—or, if you’re feeling especially tender-tummied—with nothing at all.

(Image: popsugar.com)

2: The Place: MexicoThe Hangover Remedy: Menudo

Menudo is a spicy, reinvigorating soup that hails from Mexico, where it’s often consumed as a hangover remedy. Though ingredients and preparation vary by region, the basic building blocks always include some heavy proteins (usually tripe), as well as generous helpings of spices and chiles.

A generous helping of the soup should help you on your road to recovery, but on the off chance that you are still suffering, it wouldn’t hurt to pair this dish with another classic Mexican hangover cure: the Michelada.

(Image: tastyeatsathome.com)

3: The Place: PeruThe Hangover Remedy: Leche de Tigre

Leche de Tigre is the citrusy marinade used to cure the seafood in ceviche. Comprised of lime juice, onion, chile and spices (and often a little fish juice), this “tiger’s milk” is an eye-opening refresher.

Prized colloquially as both an aphrodisiac and a hangover cure, the mixture is often served in its own glass alongside, yes, an order of ceviche. Remember this the next time you have too many of Peru’s other signature creation: the Pisco Sour.

(Image: lifeinperublog.wordpress.com)

4: The Place: Czech RepublicThe Hangover Remedy: Cesnecka

Alleged to have restorative powers for ailments ranging from a simple cold to, err, demonic possession, it should be no surprise that this Czech favorite can also cure something that often feels like a bit of both: a nasty hangover.

Cesnecka is a powerful garlic soup, strong enough to cut through the haze of a hangover. To the basic broth you can add potatoes, bacon, cheese and cream as your heart—and aching head—desire.

Ah, the traditional English breakfast. Is there anything less visually appealing yet more divinely placating to a body in need? With its plateful of greasy, starchy, fried, fatty odds and ends, definitely not.

At first glance, the English fry-up doesn’t look that different than what you might be served at any American greasy spoon. Upon closer inspection, though, the unique British aspects are obvious: the absence of fruit save the grilled, disintegrating tomatoes (even the vague healthy gesture of a slice of cantaloupe is omitted), ample quantities of meat (usually bacon and blood sausage), fried mushrooms and, of course, baked beans.

All those fat and carbs are pure workhorses when it comes to stopping a hangover dead in its tracks. There’s a good chance consuming all that will also lead to a nap which, let’s be honest, you could probably use.

(Image: ny.eater.com)

6: The Place: TurkeyThe Hangover Remedy: Kokorec

In Turkey, Kokorec is a very popular fast food. Most often served in sandwich form, the meat (generally offal of either lamb or goat), is combined with spices and red pepper or tomatoes, then wrapped in warm bread. It’s like Istanbul’s answer to New York’s bodega eggwich or LA’s late-night taco, but with lamb intestines.

(Image: lordofthedrinks.com)

7: The Place: ThailandThe Hangover Remedy: Pad Kee Mao

Pad Kee Mao, also known as “Thai drunken noodles,” is a noodle and broth dish purported to, you guessed it, cure your drunkenness.

The combination of hearty noodles and spicy soup has done wonders for generations of Thai drinkers and lately the dish has been gaining popularity among overindulging travelers. The dish itself was influenced by Chinese cuisine in Thailand and depending on who you talk to, you’re apt to get a quite an array of meals flying the “drunken noodle” flag, ranging from glass noodles in broth to stir fries. We’ll take one of each, please.

(Image: bunboyeatsla.com)

8: The Place: South KoreaThe Hangover Remedy: Haejangguk

If you find yourself one too many sojus deep in Seoul, get yourself to the nearest haejangguk vendor.

Like nearly all traditional hangover cures, this South Korean soup takes a variety of forms. In general, this recipe—which literally means “soup to cure hangover”—contains a fortifying meat broth plus a variety of vegetables and sometimes congealed ox blood and spine.

(Image: flickr)

9: The Place: FranceThe Hangover Remedy: Cassoulet

Waking up to a splitting headache and—assumedly—an ashtray overflowing with several hundred unfiltered cigarette butts, a wine soaked book on nihilist philosophy, and records strewn all over the room, the hungover Parisian yearns for the regenerative powers of the mighty cassoulet.

This hearty meat-and-bean casserole, originally a mainstay of Southern France, is robust enough to anchor even the most seasick stomach. Recipes vary, but this protein-packed peasant food will leave you satisfied.

(Image: frombellytobacon.com)

10: The Place: BoliviaThe Hangover Remedy: Fricasé (Levanta Muertos)

It seems only reasonable that since Bolivia’s national booze, Singani (a type of brandy produced in the Andes), is finally making a splash on America’s shores that we ought to also be bringing in fricasé for the morning after.

Fricasé, which is also known as “levanta muertos,” is a soup with the powers to raise the dead (or the savagely hungover, who only wish they were). The hearty stew is typical of Bolivian cuisine, in that it contains several national food staples such as corn, potatoes, pork and poultry. A bowl of this and life slowly returns to the body.